Wasting Away
by BitterSweetEnd
Summary: I wasn't good enough. I tried to make myself perfect. I didn't want it to be this way, I swear. I'd stop, but i just cant.
1. Chapter 1

"Eileen! Wake up!" Margaret shook Eileen for the third time that morning. She's been trying to wake her for the past thirty minutes. They had plans to hang out with Mordecai and Rigby for the day. Eileen had spent the night with her so they could save gas.

"Ten more minutes…"

"You said that last time!"

Eileen smiled. "And the last time." Margaret scowled at that watching her retreat back under the covers. She then smiled deviously and turned around to leave. " Alright then. Guess I'll go without you, you don't seem to want to see Rigby that bad anyway."

Eileen groaned loudly. "Dang it Margaret… Fine, I'm getting up." Margaret smiled triumphantly watching as she dragged herself out of bed and raise her arms high above her to stretch. " What time is it…?"

"Seven."

" Aw come on, we don't have to meet them till ten cant I sleep for another hour or two?"

" No! I'm leaving for two weeks tomorrow remember? We need to hang out as much as possible."

"Yah, yah... Did you at least make some coffee?"

"Of course!" She smiled and walked out the door with Eileen following her. They walked through the living room and into the kitchen. Eileen could smell the delicious coffee and immediately grabbed a mug from the cupboard. She poured some coffee into it and then grabbed the sugar and French Vanilla creamer and poured some in. After Margaret poured herself some coffee, Eileen offered her the sugar and creamer but she shook her head. "Nah, I like my coffee black."

"Oh you do? Why do you have creamer then?"

"For guests like you! I know most people don't like it black."

" Oh, well that's nice of you."

"Heh, Want pancakes for breakfast?"

"Yah!"

Eileen waited in the living room to give Margaret some room, and she started getting apprehensive about the day. _I can't wait to see Rigby! _ She blushed thinking about the raccoon she's had a crush on for ages. She could never get up the courage to tell him and she doubted he liked her back but that was okay. She really enjoyed hanging out with him so it was enough for now. They were going to go to the amusement park to ride a bunch of roller coasters and other rides. She knew Rigby would be terrified of most of them and she couldn't wait to see his face riding them.

"Hey you!" Eileen jumped hearing Margaret walk in the living room and hand her a plate with pancakes and syrup.

" Delicious!" She said taking a bite and Margaret started to eat her own.

"aww thanks, I don't want to brag but yah, they are totally delicious."

After they finished they played video games, cards and just generally had a good time. Around eight thirty Margaret told her she wanted to go to the store to buy a present for Mordecai for their anniversary, so they left early. It was nice out. There were a few clouds in the sky but Eileen loved clouds. The birds were out chirping, and the trees gently swayed in the breeze. She wanted to give Rigby a present too…Maybe she_ would_ confess, and give him a present after she said it..

" Hey Margaret. Do you think I should get something for Rigby?"

"Oh, are you finally going to make your move?"

"Well… I don't know… I think I might try."

"Well yes! You totally should!" Eileen smiled at that and tried to calm her beating heart. She wasn't sure if she could really do it but she was going to give it her best shot.

"Its ok Eileen. I believe in you. You can do it." Margaret smiled at her and gave her a look of sincerity. Eileen really appreciated her encouragement. She didn't know what she'd do if she didn't have her best friend around.

When they arrived at the store Eileen realized she didn't even know what to get him. "So uh… What are your getting Mordecai?"

" I pre- ordered a cake shaped as a heart with our faces in it!"

"Oh wow! That sounds cool!"

" Yah!"

" I guess I'll get Rigby something while you get the cake." Margaret agreed and they parted. Eileen decided she'd get him a video game and went down the video game aisle. She saw a game called Meat Man. She remembered seeing it on a commercial, a man in a meat costume trying to escape a pack of dogs. Rigby said it looked cool and that he really wanted it. Eileen smiled and grabbed the game, she couldn't believe how lucky she was! It was just in her price range too.

She met up with Margaret after paying for it and they left after hiding their presents in the trunk. On their way to the park they talked about their presents and about the day before them. When they got there they got out of the car and ran up to the house and knocked on the door. "Mordecai! Rigby! Let's go!"

The door opened and they saw Mordecai smiling at them. " Hey!

"Hey Mordecai. Ready?" Margaret asked after giving him a hug and a kiss on the cheek.

" Yah. Let me get Rigby." He said and then called for Rigby telling him they were here.

A few moments later Rigby came running down the stairs almost tripping until reaching Mordecai. "Aw yeah! Today's ganna be awesome!"

"Haha, You're going to be to much of a chicken to ride any of the rides." Mordecai teased.

"Not true!"

"Hey! Lets go you guys!" Eileen spoke. She wanted to hurry up and go. She was really excited. They loaded up in the car, Margaret and Mordecai were in the front and Eileen was in the back with Rigby. Her heart was racing. " So uh… How are you Rigby?"

"Good! I've been so excited about today! I could barely sleep last night!" Rigby said throwing up his arms.

"Me too!"

They rode the rest of the way singing to loud music, laughing and Rigby and Eileen started poking the back of Margaret's head to mess with her even though she was driving. Luckily, they soon reached their destination without getting in a wreck. They gave the man at the gate their tickets and then ran inside.

"Let's get on that ride!" Eileen pointed at the biggest roller coaster they could see with an expression of longing.

"Nahh.. Rigby's to much of a wimp for that one." Mordecai grumbled.

"Wah- No I'm not!"

"Don't you remember last year?" Mordecai raised an eyebrow smiling.

"STOP TALKING!" He screamed. "Look! I'll prove it!" He yelled and then ran towards the roller coaster. The others chased after them and when they got there Rigby quickly got in line. "Hm. Hm. Hm. You'll see."

When it was their turn Mordecai and Margaret took a seat together so Eileen sat with Rigby. When they started to go up Rigby was starting to look scared.

"How you doin' Rigby?" Mordecai taunted.

"G-great!" He shot back.

Eileen felt bad for loving how cute he looked when he was in mortal terror. When they started to go down Rigby was screaming. The ride was so fast, Eileen loved it. She loved the wind, and the thrill. When the ride slowed to a stop she looked at Rigby and had to hold back her laughter. He was heaving trying to catch his breath and looked absolutely terrified. After that they rode a bunch more rides, stopping at one o'clock to eat lunch. Mordecai bought them all corndogs, which were delicious, and Eileen bought herself an ice cream cone as well.

After they finished eating they then rode more rides until after dark. Nobody wanted to go home so soon so they stopped by a restaurant. " What do you guys want?" Mordecai asked.

Mordecai and Rigby got a meatball sub and a dr. pepper. Margaret got a Chicken sandwich and a coke, and Eileen also got a meatball sub and a shake. After eating the delicious food Margaret announced that she had a present for Mordecai and pulled out the cake. Mordecai and Rigby stared at it astonished.

" Wow! It has our faces! This is so cool Margaret!" He yelled and then shyly scratched the back of his head. " I uh.. I have a present for you too."

" Oh really?"

" Yah." He smiled and then pulled out a box and opened it. It was a silver necklace with the name MARGARET on it.

"Oh, Its beautiful!" She smiled. Mordecai helped her put it on and they shared a hug before sitting back down in their seats.

"Well. Let's eat some cake!" Margaret yelled happily.

" Haha! Look Mordecai! I'm eating your eyeball!' Rigby said raising him fork that had a piece of cake that was his eye.

"dude!" He yelled and then punched his arm.

" Oooow!" They all laughed and Eileen wondered if she should give Rigby her present but then she decided to do it later. Right now was Mordecai's and Margaret's moment.

When they were finished with the small cake Eileen still wanted more sweets so she bought another ice cream. " Wow Eileen. You sure like sweets." Rigby laughed.

" Haha, yah you do. I've never met someone who can eat as much sugar as you now that I think about it." Margaret added.

Eileen laughed along with them until they heard a voice behind them. " You're going to get fat off of so much sweets you know. You should go on a diet." They turned to see some girls looking at them from another table. Eileen would have just laughed but the way they had said it told her they weren't joking. They didn't even know them why did they butt in? She looked at her friends to see what they'd do, but they just started laughing. At first Eileen was hurt, but she quickly shook away her negative feelings and laughed along. They _must_ have just been joking.

They went back to the park and watched a movie. It was a romantic comedy about a guy named Winston and a girl named Regina who hated each other. After it was over Eileen decided it was time to give Rigby her present. She stood up and went outside to the car and grabbed the game from the trunk. She went inside and smiled at Margaret when she saw her.

"I'm going to give it to him now." She whispered. Margaret smiled and patted her on the back. "Good luck!"

Eileen walked towards the kitchen where they were and stopped to listen to them talk.

"Haha, I can totally see you dating that Regina chick." Mordecai laughed.

"No way dude! She's too chunky for me!"

" Oh come on, it's the inside that counts."

"Whatever man."

Eileen's heart sunk into her stomach. She knew they weren't talking about her of course, but she also knew she wasn't exactly the skinniest girl around. What if those girls were right? _Am I fat?_ She looked down at her stomach, she of course wasn't over weight, but neither was Regina. Was she not good enough? She had lost all confidence now and knew there was no way she could tell him now. Feeling defeated, she walked back to Margaret.

" Did you tell him?" Margaret asked excitedly.

Eileen thought up of an excuse. " No, I can't get him alone… that's ok though ill give it to him next time. We should go. Its 2am and you need to be at the airport at eight tomorrow morning."

Margaret's eyes widened. "Oh yah! Sorry Eileen. You'll get your chance next time."

After saying goodbye to the boys Margaret gave Eileen a ride home. The ride was silent most of the time, unless Eileen had to wake Margaret up when she started to dose off. When they got to her house Eileen was a bit worried. "Will you be ok?"

"Yah, I'll be fine. I'll keep the radio up loud. I'll see you in a couple of weeks, ok?" She smiled and they shared a hug before Margaret got back in her car and drove home. Eileen walked into her house and kept thinking about what Rigby had said. Eileen had never thought of herself as fat but now that she thought about it, she has gained a bit of weight, even if she wasn't obese. _Am I not good enough for Rigby? _She tried to shake the thoughts out of her mind. She knew thinking about this too much was not a good idea. But as she went to bed she couldn't stop herself from thinking about what he said.

**A/N: Welp. I think you guys know where this is going.**


	2. Chapter 2

"I- I like you. I have for a really long time now." Eileen was smiling nervously at Rigby who just simply looked at her.

"I have a present for you." She took the game Meat Man out of her bag and handed it to him. Rigby's face lit up, he looked so happy, it made her heart flutter. " Aw yeah! Meat man! Thanks Eileen!" He took the game and raised it above his head. "OOOOOOOOOH!"

" But sorry Eileen. I don't feel the same way about you. I only like skinny girls." And with that he just walked away, with the game in him arms, looking as happy as can be. Eileen was frozen on the spot. It felt as if everything had stopped around her. She fell to her knees and started bawling. _How could I think I was good enough!? _

Eileen woke with a start, gasping for air. _It was just a dream… _Even so, she couldn't get it out of her mind. The words _I'm not good enough _constantly played in her mind. She tried to clear her head and went to the kitchen to make some coffee. She almost reached for the sugar and creamer but stopped herself. _What are you doing? You can't mope around about being fat and not do anything about it. _She turned away and sat down at the kitchen table to wait for the coffee to be done.

_Its ok. Its not that bad. I'll just cut sugar from my diet. That will help me, it shouldn't be too hard. And if Margaret likes black coffee, I can too. _When the coffee was done she poured herself some and tasted it. It was bitter, she didn't really like it. But it had the caffeine to wake her so she dealt with it. Her stomach growled. _Dang it! Can't you handle just a little while without food? You fat pig. _

Trying to ignore her stomach she sat down on the couch and opened her laptop. She pulled up the internet browser and search up ways to lose weight. Most of them said to go on a diet, and exercise. Eileen was cool with exercising, but she didn't know anything about dieting. She knew she had to restrict her calories, but she knew if she did that, her friends would think its weird of her and ask questions. And then she thought about what she'd do if they offered her something with a lot of sugar. If she said no, they would think that's really unlike her. _How am I going to do this? They always offer me stuff… they're great people… _

She realized she was going to be late for work if she didn't leave soon so she shut down her laptop and got ready. She stepped outside and started walking. It was a little more cloudy today, and the wind was a bit heavy but she didn't mind. When she got to the coffee shop she clocked in and took her post.

A few hours later she heard a familiar voice. " Hey Eileen! Coffee please." She turned to see Mordecai and Rigby. They come nearly every day so it wasn't a surprise. "Coming right up" She smiled.

_Be cool. Be cool. _Seeing Rigby made her anxious. She didn't want him to see her as long as she was still to fat for him.

"There you go!" She said handing them their coffee at their table trying her best to keep her hands from shaking.

"Your lunch break is in a few minutes right? Let's go to that new pizza place across the street." Mordecai suggested.

" I-I.. well…." Eileen didn't know what to say or do. If she refused they would definitely get suspicious. " Nah… I don't want you spending any more money on me."

"Its fine! You do the same for us all the time."

"… alright." She tried her best to make a genuine smile.

"Aw yeah! Pizza!" Both Mordecai and Rigby yelled in unison. "Too bad your Margaret isn't here to see you stuff yo' face!" Rigby pointed at Mordecai smiling devilishly. Mordecai simply laughed and punched him in the arm.

When she was on her lunch break Eileen went with them across the street. Mordecai didn't even ask what they wanted since he already knew what they'd normally want. He came back with a box of multi-level pizza. He split it between the three and started eating. Eileen looked at hers, it looked so good. _But I shouldn't eat it._ She knew on diets you shouldn't starve yourself but she was so desperate to lose weight. Her stomach growled and she couldn't stop herself anymore. She took a bite. And another. And another. It was so good!

When they were done Eileen felt so disgusted with herself. How could she do that!? "aaaahhh, that was good." Rigby sighed.

" yeaaaah it was." Mordecai laid back in the chair with a look of satisfaction.

"mmmhmmm." Eileen joined, she didn't want them to think she was acting any different. " well, I need to get back to work."

"Ok. See yah later Eileen!" Mordecai and Rigby smiled and waved at her and she left back to the coffee shop.

After work she got home and laid in her couch breathing a sigh of relief. It was late, and she still couldn't believe she ate that pizza. _It was just one thing though Eileen. Its ok. _She tried to convince herself. _Yes, but that one thing had a lot of calories. And I'm hungry again. _She told herself she could go without dinner and just went to bed. If she was asleep she couldn't eat so it was all she could do.

She had trouble sleeping though. The hunger just got more and more intense. She sat up and thought she'd get her mind off it if she called Margaret. But it was late, there's no way she was awake. She picked up her phone and saw she had 3 text messages and a missed phone call. They were all from Margaret. The first one said, **Hey Eileen, What's up?** The second one read, **Helloooo? Eileen you there? **And the last said, **Are you ok? You never take this long. Are you sick? **

Eileen couldn't believe she forgot to check her phone. It was too late to reply now so she figured she would in the morning. She laid back down and tried to sleep again. When she did she had that same nightmare. Rigby would take the game and then tell her she wasn't skinny enough, simply walk away with a big smile on his face, and she woke again gasping for breath. She looked at the clock, it was 3am. She pulled the covers over her head and silently wept.

* * *

For the next week Mordecai and Rigby continued to take her out for lunch. Eileen decided maybe eating lunch with them wasn't to bad, as long as it was all she ate throughout the day and she had to exercise as soon as she got home to burn of some of the calories. She had emptied her fridge of all of her soda, ice cream, and all other junk food. It was so hard since she really loved all those things but she even got used to the taste of black coffee. It actually wasn't so bad. She wondered if she was losing any weight, and if Rigby noticed. If he had, he hadn't said anything or seemed to notice.

After work Eileen went home and started to jog outside of her house. A few minutes into it her phone rang. She opened it to see it was Margaret calling.

"Hey Margaret." She said after she answered the phone.

"Hey Eileen, you sound out of breath."

"Yah, I was workin' out" Eileen chuckled, trying to make everything seem as normal as possible.

"Ah cool! So how are you doing down there? Did you tell Rigby yet?"

"Ah, no… I'm waiting for you to come back. For moral support." Eileen lied, she hated lying to her. Not only because she was her best friend, but because Margaret always saw through them.

"Uh huh…" She said sounding skeptical. "Its ok if you're just scared you know. Take your time with this."

Eileen smiled. "Thanks… So are you having fun?"

"I am, I'm a bit home sick though."

"Heh, I can imagine."

They talked for a while until Margaret got tired and went to bed. Eileen was tired too but she wasn't going to go to sleep. She still needed to jog some more, and if she went to bed she'd have that nightmare again. Tomorrow was her day off anyway, so she didn't need to sleep.

The following week had the same routine, on her days off she'd try her best not to eat but would end up eating a few granola bars, and on her work days she'd eat a big lunch with Mordecai and Rigby, and exercise as much as she could when she got home.

Eileen got out of bed rubbing her eyes, it was another fitful sleep, but Margaret was coming home today, she was happy about that, she missed her a lot and she was sure Mordecai did too. He had made plans to hang out again, and later we'd meet Margaret at Wing Kingdom.

* * *

" Rigby get up! Eileen should be on her way soon." Mordecai threw all the dirty clothes that were piled up on Rigby off of him, causing him to groan a complaint.

"Come on dude!" He said and shook him causing the trampoline under him to make a squeaking sound.

"Alright, alright." He said and finally got off his trampoline. Mordecai smiled and jumped back on his feet.

"Come on, we still need to order the pizza."

"Ok…"

After walking downstairs Mordecai grabbed the phone and dialed the number. He ordered two boxes of stuffed crust pepperoni pizza, Rigby threw himself on the couch and groaned.

"What's your problem? Come on, its not that early." Mordecai said rolling his eyes.

"Its not that, your just way to enthusiastic this morning."

"Well what do you expect? Margaret's finally coming back! Its been two weeks!"

"Yah, yah…"

A few minutes later they heard the doorbell ring, Rigby quickly got off the couch and ran to the door thinking it was the pizza. He opened it though, and saw Eileen instead. "Oh, hey Eileen."

"Hey Rigby." Rigby stepped aside to let her in and then he laid back on the couch after shutting the door.

"Hey Eileen!" Mordecai smiled and waved at her.

"Hey Mordecai. You sure seem happy today." Eileen smiled back.

" Yah, can't wait to see Margaret again."

They played video games for a while, Mordecai and Eileen would gang up on Rigby and take him out as soon as the round started much to Rigby's dismay. "Quit cheatin' you guys!" The only response he got was them laughing at him.

The doorbell rang and this time Rigby was sure it was the pizza. He set his controller down and got up and ran to the door. He opened it and sure enough it the pizza guy. "Aw yeah thanks!" Rigby took the pizza and Mordecai came to the door to give him the money.

After the pizza guy left Rigby put the pizza on the table and opened it. "Awww yeaaah!" Rigby and Mordecai grabbed a slice and started eating. Rigby turned to Eileen and saw her just standing there with an unsure look. "Come on Eileen. Grab a slice!"

"Uh- well… ok." She hesitantly grabbed one and took a bite unable to look at Rigby in the eye. Rigby noticed that she has been hesitant about food lately, but he didn't really think much of it. He figured it was because she was feeling bad about Mordecai using his money on her. After a while of playing more video games, and drinking a bunch of soda it was finally time to meet Margaret at Wing Kingdom. They all loaded up in the cart and Mordecai started it up and did a few circles before driving off. When they got there Margaret wasn't there yet so they decided to wait before ordering anything. They didn't have to wait long, They saw the robin walk in the restaurant and Mordecai jumped up and waved. "Margaret! Margaret over here!"

She looked over and immediately smiled and walked over. They hugged and shared a kissed causing Rigby make a sound in disgust. "How've you guys been? I've missed you so much!"

"Good! We've missed you too!"

Margaret looked at Eileen and her eyes widened slightly. "Heeey, Eileen. Have you lost weight?"

* * *

Eileen widened her eyes in surprise. "I- Have I?" She was so happy that she noticed. That meant she was making progress!

"Yah! Have you seen yourself? Wow! What's your secret?"

"Oh, well… I guess I've been working out lately." It was hard for her to contain her excitement. She looked at Rigby to see his expression. He was looking at her through squinted eyes.

"Huh. I haven't even noticed." Rigby laughed.

"I haven't really noticed either. Now that you mention it though, I guess you have lost a bit." Mordecai chuckled.

Eileen's heart sunk. She should've seen that coming. They're a couple of boys, of course they wouldn't notice things like this but this meant she still wasn't good enough for Rigby. He didn't notice at all.

They ordered some wings and started eating. They had a good time and made jokes, even Eileen was having fun, Having Margaret back has really made her day a million times better than it would've without her. But she wanted to punch herself in the stomach every time she swallowed a bite of the wings.

When they were done Eileen told them she needed to go to the bathroom. They nodded and said they'd wait for her. She was so down about Rigby not noticing even a little. If she still looked the same to him then she still must be the same fat pig. She needed to try harder. She remembered reading something on the internet. Something she never thought she would even _think_ of trying. She stood in front of the toilet and got on her knees. She took her hand up to her face and stuck two of her fingers to the back of her throat.

**A/N: Thanks for the reviews guys. It means alot to me. Im trying not to be to descriptive on the bulimia side of this story. I dont want to gross anyone out. But i think you all know exactly whats going on**


	3. Chapter 3

_**BEEP BEEP BEEP!**_

Margaret cringed before opening her eyes when her ridiculously loud alarm clock disturbed her slumber. Groaning, she threw her arms to her night stand and hit the dismiss button. After a few minutes of lying there, she sat up and stretched her arms above her head. She reached over to her night stand again and grabbed her phone, which was still on the charger. She unplugged it and turned it on, and to her disappointment, she once again, did not receive a good morning text from Eileen. Before her two week long trip that she came back from a week ago, Eileen had always been the first to text her good morning and goodnight. Margaret knew something wasn't right with her but she just couldn't put her finger on what it was.

Eileen wouldn't be awake this early anyway so she decided to wait a couple hours before texting her. She stood up and made her bed before turning and walking out her bedroom door and closed it behind her. She went to her kitchen and opened her fridge and pulled out a couple of eggs. After setting them down on the counter and making sure they didn't roll off, she opened her bottom cabinets and pulled out a pan. Putting it on her stove she turned it on and then cracked the eggs, and dropped them in. As she scrambled them she heard her phone's ringtone alerting her she had received a text. Hope overwhelmed her and she set down her spatula and quickly whipped out her phone and opened it.

**Hey! Good morning Margaret! **

**- Mordecai**

She sighed, she was happy Mordecai cared enough to text her good morning, it warmed her heart a lot. She just wished her best friend could do the same.

**Hey love, good morning.**

**-Margaret**

After sending the message she turned her attention back on her eggs. After they finished cooking she put them on a plate and grabbed a fork. She sat down at her table and slowly began to eat them. What was wrong with Eileen? She has been acting so strange, she has never acted like this before, and what bothered Margaret the most about it was that Eileen wouldn't say anything about it to her. They told each other everything! Margaret had tried not to confront her about it but she didn't think she could take it anymore. She was going to today, and in person.

After finishing her eggs and washing the dishes she opened her phone and pulled up Eileen in her contacts and pushed the call button. It rang for a while before going to voicemail. Rolling her eyes she pushed end and sent her a text instead.

**I'm coming over.**

**-Margaret**

She went to her bathroom and grabbed her toothbrush to brush her teeth. She frowned when she saw that she was running out of toothpaste but she'd deal with that later. After brushing her teeth she changed out of her pajamas and put on her shoes. She then grabbed her car keys and walked out her door and to her car.

She opened her door, got in and pulled out her phone to see if she got a text just in case she hadn't heard it, but of course, there were none. Sighing, she buckled up, started the ignition and made her way to Eileen's.

When she got there she was surprised to see that Eileen was jogging in front of her house. When Eileen saw her pull into her drive way, she looked equally surprised. She stopped running and started walking up to her vehicle. Margaret unbuckled and stepped out of her car and shut the door. "Eileen-"

She was interrupted by Eileen bear hugging her and squeezing as tight as she could.

"Ughhh!" Margaret felt as if she was having the life squeezed out of her.

"Hey Margaret! I didn't know you were coming over. If I had known I would've cleaned up the house a bit and I wouldn't have gotten all sweaty." She chuckled after she let go of her, much to Margaret's relief.

"Ah, well I tried texting you." Margaret struggled a smile and tried to catch her breath as she scratched the back of her head.

"You did? Oh I'm so sorry about that."Eileen frowned sadly. "Really I am, I know I've been neglecting my phone lately."

"Well, why is that?"

Eileen hesitated and then looked slightly confused. " I don't know. I just haven't been charging it after it dies. I've been real lazy lately."

Margaret frown at that. "Well quit it! I miss hearing from you. So are you going to invite me inside?"

"Uhh… well..."

"What? Are you actually going to say no?" Margaret laughed.

"No, come on in…" Eileen reluctantly turned to her house and opened the door, stepping aside allowing Margaret in.

"What's the matter?"

"Nothing, my house is just a mess."

"Girl, I've seen your house way worse than this." She said when she saw that all it was, was some laundry scattered on the floor. Other than that it was relatively clean.

Eileen only chuckled before picking up the laundry and threw each of them in the trash. Margaret widened her eyes at that. "What are you doing?"

"They were too big on me. Yesterday I threw all the laundry that didn't fit me out of my room and I just didn't get around to actually throwing them out." Eileen smiled proudly.

"Oh, wow you've lost so much weight while I was gone and its still just falling off. Man it's unbelievable." Margaret said enthusiastically. "I'm so proud of you!"

"I know! I'm proud of myself too! I just wish Rigby would notice…" Eileen said sadly and broke eye contact with her friend.

"Oh Eileen… He's a guy, they don't tend to notice these things, but that doesn't mean they don't like you." Margaret said reassuringly and wrapped her arm around her shoulder.

"Right…" Eileen mumbled. She didn't sound convinced but she gave Margaret a smile anyway.

Margaret was about to say something else but then she noticed a can of Diet Dr. Pepper on Eileen's coffee table. Her eyes widened into saucers and she let out an impressed whistle. "Your going all out on this weight loss thing. Before there was no way you'd drink diet soda! I thought you hated that stuff!"

"Eh, I thought I'd give it another try. After a while I realized its actually not that bad." Eileen smiled and stuffed her hands in her pockets avoiding Margaret's eyes.

"Haha, have you changed anything else in your diet?"

"Well I've been eating more fruits and vegetables, unless I eat with you guys, then I just go all out like I used to" She let out a nervous laugh turning her gaze to the floor. Margaret raised an eyebrow confused about her behavior.

"I love fruit." Margaret smiled and made her way to Eileen's kitchen ignoring her small protest. She had a bad feeling in her gut, and she didn't like it. She didn't see anything like oranges or bananas on her counters so she reached for the fridge and opened it.

Nothing except Diet Dr. Pepper and Diet Coke.

"Eileen…? Where is your food?"

At first Margaret didn't get a response and she was beginning to think she wouldn't get one until finally she said, "I ran out. I was going to get more today."

"So you waited until you were completely out huh?"

"I told you, I've been real lazy lately."

"Right…" Margaret wasn't dumb, she could read Eileen like a book, but she really felt like it and also like a terrible friend. Not only because when she saw that Eileen had lost weight she didn't even consider the idea of her purposely starving herself, but because Eileen felt like she couldn't talk to _her_ about it.

Should I confront her? Or play along? She turned around and looked at her friend in the eye. Her eyes were red and puffy, it looked like she hadn't been sleeping well at all. She wanted her friend to feel like she could come to her for anything, and before she thought she did. Margaret was honestly hurt, it felt like she had been stabbed multiple times straight through the heart.

"Margaret? Are you ok?"

She decided it was probably best not to pry. It would only make her angry, annoyed, or maybe even more depressed if she confronted her and told her things like; Its not healthy! You need to eat! Or, your being selfish! She would come to her when she was ready. Right?

"Earth to Margaret!" Eileen was now waving her hand in front of her face with a small nervous smile.

_Eileen… You've always been terrible at hiding things from me._

* * *

Panting, Eileen got off of her knees and flushed the toilette she had been kneeling over. After closing the lid she went to the sink, turned the faucet on and washed her hands. After turning the faucet back off, she looked at herself in the mirror. She looked terrible, her eyes were red, there were dark circles under her eyes, and her hair was a mess. She turned the faucet back on and splashed her face with some water, but it didn't really do much. It had been a week since Margaret's surprise visit and since then she had been coming over to pick her up to visit Mordecai and Rigby every day.

Eileen took some mints from her pocket and popped them in her mouth before she opened the bathroom door and stepped out. she went back into the living room, where Margaret, Mordecai, and Rigby were waiting. They had just ate dinner, and now they were going to watch a scary movie. Margaret had immediately locked eyes with her the second she entered the room.

"There you are. Are you ok?" She asked. she looked worried and very concerned.

"I had to go to the bathroom." Eileen shrugged trying to avoid her gaze. Eileen knew Margaret was suspicious of something, the robin just knew her to well. Margaret just sadly nodded and looked away.

Eileen saw that Margaret and Mordecai were cuddled close together, and that Rigby was purposely on the opposite end of the couch as far away from them as possible. Trying to conceal her blush, she sat close to him, trying to make it appear like she was also grossed out with the two being so openly affectionate.

"Haha, you guys are just jealous!" Mordecai taunted when he saw their mockingly disgusted faces.

"No, you are!" Rigby shot back.

"Jealous of what exactly?"

"Uh…"

After Mordecai just laughed at Rigby, he started the movie. The movie was Paranormal Entity. To Eileen, it wasn't really that great of a movie. There were a few jump scares but other than that it just didn't appeal much to her, and it was just plain weird. What entertained her more, was Rigby's face throughout the movie. He was terrified, and most of the time his eyes were forced shut and shielded by his hands. On all the jump scares that merely startled her, made him scream like a baby, even more than Margaret! After the strange movie ended, Mordecai burst out laughing. "Dude! You are such a baby!"

"STOP TALKING!"

* * *

After a while they all decided to go to sleep. Margaret got the couch, and the others slept sprawled out on the floor. Rigby tried to sleep but all the little noises in the house scared him. He knew he shouldn't have watched that movie, but if he hadn't, Mordecai would tease him for being a wimp. After about an hour, he got thirsty. He tried to ignore it but he couldn't take it anymore after a while. He rolled on his stomach and sat up but it was so dark, he was too scared to even stand up.

"Rigby?"

Startled, Rigby jumped and whipped around before recognizing the voice as Eileen's.

"Wow, didn't mean to scare you." Rigby could just make out her face, and he could see that she was trying her best not to laugh.

"You didn't!" He said quickly and as quietly as he could.

"Sure, ok."

Rigby pouted at that and then looked towards the kitchen. There was no way he was going in there alone. "Welp, I'm thirsty. Your awake so you may as well come with me to the kitchen, I'll get you a glass of water too."

"How kind of you." She smiled sarcastically and rolled her eyes amused.

_Crap, she's on to me!_

"What? I can be nice." Rigby crossed his arms and pouted some more.

Eileen cleared her throat, probably to keep herself from laughing and then walked past him. "Come on, I'll take you to your destination to make sure your safe."

Rigby stopped himself from yelling that he wasn't scared, so that he didn't wake up Mordecai and get teased for being a coward. Reluctantly, he followed her. When they got to the kitchen, Eileen waited by the doorway while Rigby got a drink of water. They heard a noise causing Rigby to jump and nearly spill his drink.

"Wh-what was that!?"

Eileen turned to see that it was only Mordecai turning in his sleep and she tried her best not to smile. "Mordecai turned over."

"Oh… I knew that."

"Of course."

After Rigby drank his fill, they walked back over to the others and laid back down.

"Eileen? You're not ganna tell Mordecai are you?

"No Rigby."

Rigby smiled gratefully. "Thanks Eileen."


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Wow. I'm so sorry this took so long. I've just been busy. Procrastinating is hard work, you know? Regardless, i hope you enjoy!**

Margaret awoke from her slumber and lazily turned over. Out of habit, without opening her eyes she reached for her phone on her nightstand to see if she had actually gotten a text from Eileen. Only… Her nightstand wasn't there. She opened her eyes in confusion and then immediately remembered she was at the park. She sat up and rubbed the sleep from her eyes before turning to see the others who had the 'pleasure' of sleeping on the floor. She saw Rigby sprawled out, the covers had been kicked off of him. Margaret snickered, she _knew_ Rigby was the type to toss and turn in his sleep. She looked around for Mordecai and Eileen, but they weren't there in the living room. She heard the sound of someone moving around in the kitchen, and the quiet sound of sizzling. It was then that she smelled the delicious scent of bacon and eggs. She stood up and made her way there, when she peeked around the corner she made out the shape of Mordecai in front of the oven finishing up some slightly burnt scrambled eggs. When he started flipping the bacon Margaret slowly started to tip-toe up to him, careful not to make her presence known. When he sat his spatula down, Margaret wrapped her wings around him, which startled him, causing him to jump.

"You scared me." He said quietly as his shocked face turned into one of affection when he turned to face her. He wrapped his own wings around her, and they shared a light peck on the lips.

"Whoa, hope I'm not interrupting anything."

Margaret jumped and whipped around to see Eileen at the entrance to the kitchen. Seeing Margaret's reaction made her bubble up with laughter and lean against the door frame for support. Mordecai also started laughing, and brought his hand up to hold his stomach.

"You guys are always too loud in the mornings." They turned their heads to see Rigby yawning as he grumpily stomped in the kitchen.

"Aw yeah! Bacon!" He instantly brightened up and ran up to the oven to take a big whiff. He grimaced when he smelled eggs along with it. "Ugh! Disgusting! Mordecai, why?"

"What? The eggs are for us not you. I made extra bacon." Mordecai said rolling his eyes. He chuckled as he added, "What? You think I'm trying to kill you or something?"

"Maybe."

"Probably." He grinned.

Rigby rolled his eyes at that and turned his attention back to the bacon. " How long 'till it's done?"

"Now actually." He replied and turned back around. He grabbed the spatula and scooped up the bacon. When he sat it on the plate he had put by the oven, Rigby was already getting a plate from the cupboard. He ran back to the oven and grabbed a few handfuls with his bare hands and dropped them on his plate.

"Rigby!" Mordecai glared at him.

"Oh, don't be such a germaphobe."

Mordecai rolled his eyes again as Rigby walked back out to the living room yawning. Eileen walked up to the counter where Mordecai put the bowl of his slightly burnt eggs. "Hm..."

"How's it look? I worked real hard on 'em."

"Uh… Good."

Margaret cleared her throat.

"Great! They look great!"

Margaret smiled and then grabbed three plates from the cupboard. She handed one to Mordecai and Eileen before putting quite a bit of eggs on her plate. "Can't wait, they'll be delicious!"

Mordecai chuckled shyly and rubbed the back of his head as she went on and grabbed a few slices of bacon.

"Hurry and make your plates." She said as she walked in the living room.

Mordecai heard Eileen make a quiet sigh before also putting a few big scoops of eggs on her plate and then walking back towards the living room. Mordecai raised an eyebrow. "No bacon? You love bacon."

"Eh, I know, but I'm trying to be vegetarian." She said as she turned towards him, smiling innocently.

"Seriously? _You?" _He smiled back.

She tried to cross her arms, but it was difficult with the plate in her hands. "Oh come on, is it really that hard to believe?"

"Kinda."

At that Eileen just smiled and shook her head before walking out of the kitchen. Mordecai laughed and made his own plate before following her.

"Hey Mordecai! We decided after breakfast we're going to the arcade down the street. Sound good?" Margaret asked when she saw him walk in.

"Oh, yah! Sounds like fun!" He grinned as he walked over and sat on the couch next to her.

"Please don't start making out. I'm trying to eat." Rigby mumbled. Mordecai shot him a glare as Eileen burst out laughing.

When Eileen finished eating she stood up and stretched before heading upstairs.

"Where you going Eileen?"Margaret quickly asked. A little _too_ quickly. Mordecai looked at her questioningly, but of course, she wasn't looking at him. She was looking at Eileen, waiting for her to answer her question.

Eileen was looking back at Margaret, confused. "Um… Bathroom?"

Margaret frowned but said nothing else. When she was sure she wasn't going to say more, she turned and hesitantly continued up the stairs.

Rigby yawned and stood up as well. "I'm getting more bacon." And with that, he dragged himself into the kitchen, plate in hand.

"Is everything ok Margaret?" Mordecai asked her, wrapping his wing with hers.

"I… Yah- I mean… I don't really know."

"What do you mean?"

"I'm worried about Eileen." She admitted, turning her head back towards the stairs.

"Eileen? Why? Is something wrong with her?"

Margaret didn't reply for a moment. She looked uncertain, as if she wasn't sure if she should tell him what was on her mind.

"Come on, tell me." He said putting his other wing on her shoulder.

"I… think she's starving herself…" When Mordecai gave her a confused look and looked over at Eileen's empty plate she quickly added, "I mean when she only eats around us—I think… And when she does eat, she always goes to the bathroom _right_ after. Haven't you noticed?"

"well… I guess… but that's a little… well… Maybe it's a coincidence. I mean come on. _Eileen?_ That doesn't sound like her…" Mordecai was very uncomfortable. He knew anorexia and bulimia was a very sensitive subject, and he didn't even know much about it! He wanted to comfort Margaret, but he was scared he'd insult her; and it seems that he did. She narrowed her eyes at him and gritted her teeth.

"Haven't you seen how much weight she's lost!? She wasn't even overweight to begin with! It's getting unhealthy. Cheekbones aren't supposed to be that defined! And her arms Mordecai! Her _arms!" _

Mordecai widened his eyes in horror when he saw a single tear roll down her cheek. He opened his mouth to say something, but he kept tumbling over every word, none of them even made sense. He stopped trying for a moment and took a deep breath before starting again.

"D-don't cry. I'm sorry, I'm sorry. I-I didn't mean to upset you. I was-"

"Whoa, what happened here?" Mordecai turned to see Rigby, holding his plate that now had more bacon on it. He was looking at Margaret, actually seeming genuinely concerned. Margaret quickly wiped her eyes, trying to dry her feathers with her wing.

"Sorry… I'm fine."

Rigby didn't try to pry, letting it pass he just walked over and sat by them before wolfing down his bacon, which was probably his way of trying to show he cared, or something of the like. Normally, he always tried to sit as far away from them as possible when they were on the couch, that is, if he sat on the couch at all. He did this because he hated being next to them when they 'made out.' Really though, the 'making out' they did was simply just cuddling. They never even kissed. Well, at least most of the time.

He looked back at Margaret miserably. He couldn't believe he made her cry. She was still rubbing her eyes and Mordecai grabbed her hands and pulled them away from her face.

"I'm sorry." He whispered. He knew Rigby would hear but he needed to say it again. Besides, Rigby may be a pain but he knew when to stay out of things.

Margaret gave him a small, sad smile and shook her head. "No, I am. I shouldn't have yelled at you."

Minutes passed, and when Rigby finished his bacon Eileen finally came back downstairs. Mordecai looked at her and saw her eyes were red and she looked exhausted. He noticed her cheekbones _were _quite defined and—

_Whoa._

Her arms were so tiny. Mordecai didn't really notice before, but now that it was brought to his attention, he noticed how skinny she was. He knew she had gone on a diet and was exercising more often but is it healthy to be _that_ thin?

He quickly grabbed his wallet, which he had put on the coffee table so he could take it when they left, and opened it to see the picture of the four of them that he always kept in there. It was taken two years ago in front of the park house after they had almost gotten killed by Death Bear from the old abandoned zoo. Rigby didn't get a good picture of them at the zoo, so they decided to just take another one there. Mordecai and Margaret stood next to each other but weren't touching. It was back when they both liked each other, but weren't yet dating. Eileen was trying to hold up a half-asleep Rigby, who he had accidently shot with a tranquilizer.

He looked closely at Eileen's picture. Yep, she's definitely lost a lot of weight. He sighed closing his wallet and set it back on the coffee table. He then leaned back on the couch and groaned. What was he supposed to do in this kind of situation? Maybe Margaret was wrong, and she was fine. But then what if she wasn't? In order to not make any more mistakes, he decided to leave it alone for now. He stood up and clapped his hands together.

"What are we waiting for? Let's go! We taking your car Margaret?"

She nodded and stood up. Rigby set his plate on the coffee table and enthusiastically whooped before running out the door, not bothering to take it to the kitchen. The others followed him and got in the car. Margaret started the engine and pulled out. The arcade wasn't that far away. In fact they could've even walked if they wanted, but Mordecai didn't really like the idea so he sure wasn't going to suggest it. They were about to pass a small playground, the arcade just a few buildings up, but Margaret noticed a small boy crying. She immediately pulled into the playground despite Rigby's complaints.

"Margaret! Come on!"

Ignoring him, she stepped out of the car and shut the door behind her. She walked up to the boy and knelt down. " Hey now… What's wrong? Why are you crying?"

The kid looked up at her, tears still falling from his eyes. "None of my friends will play hide and seek with me…"

"Hide and seek? Well how about we play with you?"

"What!? Mar- OW!" Rigby yelled when Mordecai punched him in the arm to shut him up. To be honest, he didn't really want to play kid games with some random stranger either. He just wanted to go and hang out at the arcade, but he'd do anything to stay on Margaret's good side.

"Whipped…" Rigby whispered as he glared at Mordecai. He rolled his eyes, resisting the urge to punch him again.

The kid brightened up immediately. "Yay! You count!" He yelled and with that he ran off. Mordecai rolled his eyes smiling. With the way that kid just acted, he knew he was purposely crying just so someone would come and do what Margaret just did. She was smiling her lovely smile that he adored so much as she watched the boy go.

"You heard him. Get hiding or I'll tag you."

Rigby groaned and walked off and Eileen chuckled and ran off in her own direction as well. Mordecai frowned. He always sucked at finding places to hide when he was a kid. He looked around as Margaret cover her eyes and began to count.

_Wait… What is she even counting to!?_

He decided to just hide behind a tree that was near him, and when he got there he quietly groaned. This spot was so obvious! Why would he decide to hide here?

When Margaret had counted to 20 she called out, "Ready or not, here I come!"

He waited for her to walk over to the tree and find him but she never did. He was surprised to hear her feet stepping _away_ from him. He grinned to himself. He guessed that since it seemed like such an obvious spot, she didn't think anyone would hide there. After a few seconds, he leaned his head out to see where she was. She saw her next to a trash can that had a raccoon tail coming out from behind it. He tried his best not to laugh.

_And I thought I was terrible at this game._

Margaret leaned over the trash can and looked down at Rigby. "Found you Rigby."

Rigby looked up at her in surprise and then immediately took off towards Mordecai. Margaret stood shocked at how fast the small raccoon was until her eyes met someone's who she knew she could outrun. His. Mordecai widened his eyes and quickly hid back behind the tree, but he knew it was too late. He saw Rigby join him and try to catch his breath. "Dude! You ratted me out! You hole!"

"I panicked!"

They screamed when they heard Margaret laugh and her footsteps get louder and louder as she approached them. They tried to run the same way and tumbled over each other. "Move!"

"You move!"

They pushed past each other and scattered. Margaret didn't even try to catch up with Rigby. Mordecai turned his head to see her gaining on him and he screamed again.

She barreled into him and they landed on the grass and fallen leaves, laughing.

"Got you!"

"Ok, you got me."

They stood up and brushed each other off before Margaret hollered that he was it. Eileen and the kid came out of their hiding spots and walked over to them.

"Haha, your it!" The kid taunted looking as happy as can be. Mordecai couldn't help but admit it, he was pretty adorable.

He grinned and was already starting to count. The boy widened his eyes. "Agh wait! I wasn't ready!" He frantically whipped his head from side to side before running off. The others quickly followed suit. When he finished counting he hollered that he was coming and looked around. He immediately saw the boy hiding in the same tree he was hiding behind. "I see you up there."

He stuck his tongue out at him. "You can't climb this!"

Mordecai raised an eyebrow at that challenge. He could _easily _climb it. To prove it, he jumped up on the tree and started crawling up. The kid started to laugh excitedly and just before he reached him, he jumped off. Mordecai watched him land on the ground and run off, he quickly jumped off as well and chased after him, but was purposely slow enough to not catch him. The kid, still laughing, pointed somewhere so he followed his finger. He saw Eileen hiding under a slide. Not exactly a great hiding spot but… okay?

He quickly changed direction and saw her face change to mock fear. She quickly turned tail and ran, but thanks to his long legs, he quickly caught up to her. Eileen couldn't run for very long, much to Mordecai's surprise. She was normally a great runner. She gave up and stopped, allowing Mordecai to grab her and raise her up. He almost dropped her when he felt how light she was but he managed to keep his composure. "Got ya!"

"Yah, yah! Put me down bruh!" She laughed.

Mordecai did, but not quite because she told him to. As he held her, he could feel every single one of her ribs. That really terrified him. _Horrified_ him. He felt as if he was going to throw up. Something _was_ definitely wrong with Eileen and before Margaret brought it to his attention, he didn't even notice.


	5. Chapter 5

They played with the boy for a little while longer until he suddenly stopped running while Margaret was chasing him. She skidded to a halt in order to not barrel into him and gave him a questioning look. He smiled apologetically and stuffed his hand in his pocket.

"Hang on, I got a text." He pulled out a phone causing Margaret to blink in surprise.

_Is he old enough to have a phone?_

She watched the smile plastered on the kid's face fall as he looked at his phone. "My ma says I need to head home."

"Aw, okay. By the way, what is your name?"

He looked up at her grinning once again and said loud and proudly. "Oscar. And yours?"

_What a cute name!_

"Margaret." She replied, returning his smile.

"Ok. Thanks for playing with me Margaret!" He said and waved his hand goodbye as he ran off.

"Ugh! _Finally!_ Can we go to the frickin' arcarde now!?" Rigby exasperated, making Margaret's smile that she had kept on her face as she watched Oscar go finally recede.

"Dude, what is it with you and kids?" She asked crossing her arms with a disheartened frown.

"We had plaaans!" He said defensively and made his frown bigger, almost as if he was trying to compete with hers.

"Oh come on, you had fun." She said and rolled his eyes at him.

"Humph." He said crossing his arms as well and looked away. "Can we just hurry up and get to the arcade now?"

"Alright, alright." She said and led them back to her car. They all got in and after she made sure everyone had buckled, she started her engine pulled out of the playground and drove towards the arcade.

Margaret couldn't help but smile again as she thought about Oscar. He was so cute, she almost reminded her of her sister before…

She shook her head, almost vigorously and then froze. She turned slightly to see if the others had seen but they said nothing so she quietly let out a sigh of relief. She swallowed, trying to keep the thought of her sister out of her mind. She was having a good day and she didn't want to ruin it by bringing back those terrible memories.

When they got there, Margaret barely had the chance to kill the engine before Rigby hopped out and ran inside yelling as if he was calling out a battle cry. She heard Eileen yawn as she followed him much more slowly. She tried to catch her eye as she walked by her window but she seemed out of it and passed by her as if she wasn't even there. She frowned, disappointed, and then turned to Mordecai who sat next to her in the passenger seat. He was looking out the window with quite a disturbed look on his face. Margaret realized he hadn't spoken at all since they left the playground and so she reached her hand towards his and gently took it. He looked at her, slightly surprised and then looked around. "Oh, we're here. Great!"

The smile that Margaret loved so much spread across his face making her smile back at him dreamily. Almost in some sort of daze, she slowly nodded and raised his hand to kiss it. Mordecai chuckled and planted his own kiss on her hand as well.

"Are you alright? You've been quiet."

"Oh, uh, yah. Just thinking." He said and rubbed his other hand on the back of his neck. "Come on, let's go in."

Deciding not to pry, she simply nodded and let go of his hand to step out of the car. Mordecai did the same and they interlocked fingers once again as they walked inside.

They all came back out of the arcade in a fit of laughter. It was dark now and they couldn't believe that they had spent the whole day their without even noticing. Well… Okay they did believe it, but it was still pretty funny.

"Duuude, we should go get some hotdogs!" Rigby yelled as he shot his grin towards the others.

"Aw yeah!" Mordecai chimed in and they both looked at Margaret. "How 'bout it?"

Suddenly, an idea occurred to her. "Sure! But I got to get home soon so we'll need to take it to go and then I'll take you two home, and then Eileen."

She looked at Eileen to see her reaction but she frowned when she saw her looking off into outer space. She hadn't even heard. "Uh, Eileen?"

"Huh?" She said as she turned her head to her with a confused look on her face. Margaret gave her an irritated groan, making her widen her eyes. "What? What?"

"We're goin' for some dogs!" Rigby hollered at her enthusiastically raising his hands above his head.

"Oh, okay."

"To go." Margaret widened her eyes and looked at Mordecai. He probably hadn't meant to, but he had said it quite sternly. Was he finally starting to notice and accept something was wrong with her? Rigby had already ran off and got into the car, obviously eager to get going.

"I- to go? Why? Can't we eat there?" Eileen stuttered and shot him a troubled look. Mordecai held her gaze as he replied, still with slightly more strain than he probably intended.

"No, Margaret has to get home. Why? Is something wrong?"

"Ah… no." She replied. Margaret noticed her hands were starting to shake and her jaw clenched up, making her heart feel as if it were in her throat. Without a word she walked to her car and got in while they, much more slowly, did the same. Rigby seemed to notice the tension that had filled the car when they entered and he cleared his throat before speaking up. "Uh… Everything ok?"

"Yah, everything is perfect! Now let's go get them dogs!" Mordecai bellowed, his voice holding no hint of any of the strain it had before. Rigby's smiled returned and he laughed in response.

"Awww yeah!" He shouted as Margaret pulled out and once again got on the road.

They pulled up to the Drive Thru and she ordered four hotdogs. When she got them, she hand one to each of the others but left hers in the bag since she had to drive.

"Aw yes! Bet I can eat it faster than you two!" Mordecai challenged, looking back at Rigby and Eileen.

Rigby looked back at him with a squint. "…Challenge accepted."

He immediately started chowing down, not even bothering to wait for the other two to begin.

"Hey! You cheater!" Mordecai yelled before quickly biting down on his hotdog. A few moments later, Rigby hollered out in victory.

"Haha! That's what you get for challenging the champion!"

"Only because you cheated!" Mordecai grinned deviously and unbuckled before leaning over and trying to land a punch on his arm.

"Ahh! Wow, wow! Hey now! Call off your dogs! Ain't my fault if you suck!" He said trying to scoot as far away from Mordecai's fists as he possibly could. After messing around for a few more minutes, Margaret finally told Mordecai to buckle back up. He did, but not before throwing Rigby a 'I'll get you later' look.

A few more minutes passed before Mordecai once again turned around, but this time, it was to Eileen.

"Are you not eating Eileen?"

Margaret quickly adjusted her mirror so she could see her. Eileen looked up at him when he spoke and she quickly looked back out the window. "I will when I get home."

"Why?"

"I'm not hungry at the moment." She snapped sharply as she whipped her head back to him, causing Rigby to cast her a confused glance.

"Gee, what's got you in a bad mood?" Mordecai replied, keeping his eyes directly on hers. Margaret knew by the expression on his face that he was trying to provoke her. She looked back at the mirror to see Eileen looking so nervous and shaky as she couldn't think of anything to say. When she decided on not replying and just looked back out the window, Margaret looked back to the road in pity. She knew that Eileen knew her and Mordecai were on to her now. She must feel so anxious and exposed. She would need to tell Mordecai later to try to be more sensitive about this. She agreed that something needed to be done but she didn't believe this was the way to go about it. She knew where it could lead.

No one spoke a word the rest of the way to the park and when they got there, Margaret could tell Rigby was relieved to get away from the awkward silence that had befallen them. When they left she looked in her mirror to see if Eileen had anything to say. She didn't; she just kept looking out the window with a far off look in her eyes. Margaret sighed and drove out of the park towards Eileen's house. Again, the ride was completely silent. When they got there, Eileen stepped out without a word. Before she could leave without even saying goodbye, Margaret spoke up.

"Hey, are you ok Eileen?"

Eileen looked back at her and just blinked. Margaret swallowed nervously. It was as if she was saying, 'what do you think?' Many awkward moments passed before Eileen finally cleared her throat. "Goodnight Margaret."

And with that, she walked inside her house. Margaret watched her go, her beak slightly agape in surprise and hurt. She sat there and just stared at Eileen's door for a few minutes. She wanted to get out of the car and barge into her house and scream at her. She wanted to tell her how much she is affecting not only herself but her friends too. But she couldn't do that. Or maybe she could, but was just too much of a coward.

With a heavy heart, Margaret pulled out of Eileen's driveway, and made her way to her own house.

After getting to her apartment, she grabbed the bag that had her hotdog and she got out of her car. She started walking towards the building but something that caught her eye stopped her. She saw an orange and white cat in the alleyway that was next to her apartment complex. What had caught her eye was the fact that she could see nearly all of the cat's bones. You could clearly see all of its ribs and you could _see_ its spine protruding. The look of the poor thing was so pitiful, Margaret couldn't just pass by it without giving it some food. She walked towards it and it immediately shot its head up to see what was approaching. Its eyes dilated, and the fur on its spine rose as she got closer. Margaret stopped when it hissed at her, and she frowned. She opened her bag and took out the hotdog and removed the bun before bending down to set it at her feet. Maybe the cat would calm down if it knew she had food. But as she bent down the cat hissed again and sprinted off. Margaret saw it crawl in a crack in the wall that went under the apartment. Sighing in frustration, she picked up the hotdog and set it by the crack. Walking to the other side of the alley she leaned against the tall fence before slowly sitting down.

She really tried not to… She really did. But memories of her sister came rushing back to her like a horrid recurring nightmare. She remembered she was six years old. Her older sister, Karen, was 11. Karen was always bullied in school for being a little over-weight. Margaret never thought it was that bad, but the rest of the world didn't seem to agree. Karen never seemed to mind, she was a normal, happy go lucky type of kid. She was Margaret's best friend, they always hung out together, they were two peas in a pod; inseparable. It was when Karen had turned 15 that she had started to change. She began to distance herself from Margaret, it seemed all the bullying had made her finally hit the edge. She had tried asking her what's wrong, but she always shrugged her off and pushed her away. She would never go with her when she went out for food, and Margaret noticed that she stopped eating dinner in front of them. She would catch her weighing herself often, but being only 10, Margaret didn't really see anything _wrong_ with it. Her parents and her sister started getting in a lot of fights about her weight. Margaret didn't understand why, she had thought that losing weight was supposed to be a good thing.

Only when Karen had a heart attack was when she really started to fear for her. It was terrifying, she had collapsed while walking down the stairs. Margaret screamed for her parents, thinking she was greatly injured, and they came running with panicked yells and screams. When she wasn't giving them any response, they picked her up and rushed her to the hospital. She had lived in the end, but when she got home she still refused to eat. It was like she'd rather die than gain any weight back. It puzzled Margaret, Karen was now the skinniest person in her house, yet she still thought she needed to lose more. The fights between her and their parents got worse and worse until Karen just couldn't take it anymore. They found her face down in her bed one morning. She had overdosed on pills that their mom had to help her sleep. Margaret remembered her parents' screams, and their cries. She remembered how those cries never ended while she lived there. Her mom was constantly crying, all the time. Her entire childhood after that was just depressing and gloomy, she was so happy to finally be out of that place when she moved out.

Interrupting her thoughts, Margaret saw the cat's head poke out of the crack and sniff the hotdog. She froze in place, willing herself not to move a muscle in order to not scare it again. She felt herself smile when the cat ravenously seized the hot dog and tore into it. Her movement caught the cat's eye, and it pulled its ears back and let out a quiet hiss before dragging the hot dog into its 'hiding place.'

Letting out a giggle, Margaret stood up straight and yawned before deciding to go inside and to sleep. Taking one last look at where she saw the cat disappear, she turned away and went to her apartment.

**A/N: I kept the story of Karen in this chapter quite brief, but don't worry, i do plan to go into more detail in future chapters. Again, i'm so sorry i took so long! Hopefully the next ones wont take as long. **


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